Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Spinach

Well today officially kicked off fall and I decided to celebrate with cooking butternut squash. I love butternut squash. It just screams fall to me. It can be done in hundreds of preparations but I thought I would try out my new culinary creativeness and do something different. So I saw a recipe for butternut squash and gnocchi and I modified it. I dont like kale so I used spinach and I also added some other herbs as well. Be warned that while this dish is perfectly fine, its not the best it could be. I had this dilemma when coming up with my Italian Wedding Soup recipe. I had to make it a couple of times with different things in it before making sure it was perfect. Although I do remember Alex loving it the way it was and being upset with me for adding some other things to my soup, but he enjoyed the final product much more than the original. So I guess its okay to change good recipes so they can be the best they can be. So if you try this and do something different than I did, I would love to hear it. I will add my own notes and notations on the dish after I have told you about it.

Recipe:
1 butternut squash
1 pkg dehydrated gnocchi (I used whole wheat)
1 bunch baby spinach or other green, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 1/4c chicken broth (the recipe stated or water but I used water since my chicken broth was frozen and I would have preferred broth)
salt
pepper
cayenne
sage
1/4-1/2c grated parmesan


Take your butternut squash and lets break it down. Some of you may not have used fresh squash and may not know the best way to do this. Here is my own personal method. I cut the squash in half around its waist. Then I take the bottom half, the part with the seeds, and cut that in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. I prefer to use a peeler but other people prefer to use a knife, so its your choice here. Peel or cut the skin off the squash. .

Then cut into long strips and then cubes. If you plan on cooking your squash by boiling or using in soups later then you can freeze anything leftover in plastic containers or freezer bags

Once you have cubed your squash place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle some olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and some thyme or sage. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minues or until soft.

In a large oven proof skillet heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until they become slightly browned. Add in your cooked squash and stir together. If the squash starts to stick to your pan, add some more olive oil or butter.

Add in 1 1/4c chicken broth, gnocchi, and spinach. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste. Also add in 1/4t cayenne and some chopped sage. (I tend to really like sage and use a lot but if you dont like that much, then dont add a whole lot.) Bring to a light boil and reduce heat until pan is gently simmering. Stir continually to make sure everything is mixed together well in the pan. Mixture will get a little goopy and soupy looking, but do not fret, it will work itself out in the end.

*Gnocchi (ne-oki) should have the conistency of a soft dumpling. Not too soft and fall apart but not too dense and dry. For more info check out this site.

Once the gnocchi is cooked add 1/2 of the parmesan and stir into the squash mixture. Add the other 1/2 of the parmesan to the top of the dish and place in a preheated oven on broil. Cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Remove from oven and let it cool down slightly before serving.

Spoon onto plates and serve with some crusty bread.

So what is the review on it? Well Alex liked it. He didn't think it was too sweet. I on the other hand thought it was a little too sweet. I think maybe I should have used a kale or other bitter green instead of the milder spinach. The dish was overall too sweet and needed the bitter element to balance it out. I also believe it needed the chicken stock instead of the water. So next time I will use the broth. It adds a salty savory element to the dish that water does not supply. This also would have helped to cut down on the sweet factor. I also did not have fresh sage and for some reason didn't even think of my dried sage. Once I did think of it I added a little bit to the top of my dish. It helped, but fresh and cooked with the meal would've made a huge difference as well. I also wonder if a little lemon zest would help to brighten the entire dish. But overall it wasn't bad. If you do decide to try this, make sure and not make my mistakes!